If your teacher has a sense of humour, they will love receiving one of these funny teacher candle gifts! This is an easy yet thoughtful craft to make for Teacher Appreciation Day, the end of the school year, Christmas or even for a teacher’s retirement.
My children both have a wicked (but adorable!) little sense of humour. Their educators, friends and family are always commenting on how cheeky those boys are.
That’s how I knew this hilarious teacher candle gift idea was perfect for their end-of-school-year gifting!
I created these labels with a cheeky teacher quote stating the candle is the teacher’s last nerve, then once the candle is lit, their nerve is on fire. Or… Mrs Smith’s last nerve… oh look! It’s on fire!
Best of all, you can create your own gifts with my free customizable label printable! Don’t forget to check out my Thanks for Making Me a Smartie Pants free printable labels as another gift idea.
I will run through how I made my teacher candle gifts below. However, if you just want to grab the download now, scroll to the base of this post where you’ll find a big green button with the download link.
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Table of Contents
The Teacher Candle Quote Idea
I originally found this as a Cricut tutorial on YouTube. I had grand plans to create a gold foil design on my Cricut but given it was probably the third project I attempted, it didn’t go so well!
Once I get confident, I’ll be sure to bring you some tutorials to use with your Cricut. In the meantime, drop a comment below and let me know what your favourite Cricut crafts are!
I still have good news though! I’ve created a free editable printable so that you can make your own funny teacher candle gifts. Nothing fancier than your home printer is required!
If you would love to create these labels with your Cricut, the easy Dollar Tree ideas for teachers video from Maker’s Gonna Learn is where I got this concept from.
I also have 78 sweet, cute and funny teacher sayings for gifts and crafts that you might like to use!
Supplies
- Candle
- Free Printable Customisable Labels
- White Sticker Sheet (preferred but optional)
- Paper Trimmer or Scissors
- Printer
Making Your Teacher Candle
This teacher’s last nerve project was so easy. Purchase candles, personalise the labels and stick them to your candles!
It’s up to you how much you want to spend on the candle. If you have a lot of educators and therapists to make them for, this is still a really cost-effective gift. I bought mine from the supermarket since that’s the only place I was going at the time!
When you purchase your candles, you may need to remove a sticker first. Before buying mine I actually attempted to do this in the store to see how easy it would be. If you’re having trouble removing them, try one of these tips for removing stickers from glass.
But I hear you ask… Lauren, how do I make these into labels without a Cricut? I have two ways for you. The first method is definitely the easiest and you will get the most longevity from them. However, I have an alternate way which might be more suitable for some of you.
Method 1: Printing to a Sticker Sheet
The best way to make your teacher candle quote labels is to print them on a white full-page sticker sheet. I haven’t preformatted the labels to a specific label template as not everyone will have the exact label sheets available in their area.
When it comes to purchasing full-page sticker sheets, the higher the quality, the better. I always like to use Avery labels.
Method 2: Adhering to the Candle
If you don’t have sticker sheets or want to save on your DIY then you can adhere the labels to your candles using glue.
Now we want to make sure your labels stay stuck! The key is in the paper you use to print on.
Your paper needs to be smooth and thick but still flexible enough to wrap around the candle. You don’t want to use anything that’s getting towards a cardstock weight but you also don’t want a thin paper where the adhesive will show through.
I would suggest using a white paper of approximately 120-150gsm such as this A4 paper or US Letter 8.5×11 paper.
The best way to attach the paper to your candles is to use an adhesive tape runner rather than glue. I find these tape runners are generally much better at not showing through!
Step 1: Download Your Free Editable Printable Labels
Your teacher candle gift printable comes with 8 labels on a page. Each label measures 70mm x 50mm (approximately 2.75″ x 2″).
The labels have a field for you to personalise with your own text that says *edit teacher name* last nerve, oh look it’s on fire!
It’s easy to update the name on your label in Adobe Reader. Simply download, edit and print!
You don’t need any special fonts, I have embedded them for you. If you want to change them, I’ll go into more detail further below. Here’s an overview of the steps:
- Download via the green button at the end of this post.
- Save the file to your computer’s directory before editing. You will run into problems if you are trying to edit in an internet browser!
- Open in Adobe Reader.
- Click in the blue boxes to update the names (see image below). These won’t print in blue.
- Save the file and then print.
Step 2: Further Customizations to Your Labels (optional)
Perhaps you’d like to change the font style. Or maybe you can’t fit the name within the label field? That’s okay, with an easy shortcut I’ll show you how to edit those things too!
- Place your cursor in the field you would like to edit and highlight the text (see the image below)
- Bring up the Form Field Text Properties box with the keyboard shortcut: CMND + E (Mac) or CTRL + E (Windows)
- From here you can change the font selection, adjust the size, colour and more
Note that the font I’ve used for the names looks best at 16pt and above so if you’re shrinking the text too much, you might like to change the style too. You want to be able to read the label properly.
Step 3: Printing Your Labels
So that you could prepare before getting to this step, I mentioned two options you could use for printing your labels. You can either print to a full-page sticker sheet or high-quality paper.
Before you print, it’s always a good idea to save your file. Once you have done that, printing to your home printer is pretty easy.
The only settings you might need to be aware of are the size settings. These labels were designed for an 8.5×11 sheet however you can still print to A4. Regardless of the paper size you’re printing to, ensure you have selected ‘Actual Size’ or 100% scaling for true-to-size labels.
Step 4: Bringing Your Teacher Candle Together
Now you will need to cut out your labels. I find this is easiest with a paper trimmer but scissors will work too. Depending on how dark the cutting line prints for you, you may prefer to cut just inside it to ensure it doesn’t show.
Lastly, stick or adhere with a tape runner to your candle. And now you’re done!
Teacher Candle Gift Label Download
It’s always great fun coming up with teacher appreciation gifts. It’s nice to make something a little different too! That’s why I fell in love with this unique teacher candle gift idea.
I’m always on the lookout for new ideas. If you have a teacher gift idea you’d love to share, let me know in the comments below. Now for the download below…
Now for the download! If you don’t have the password as yet, signup is simple with an email address.
After you have your password, you can click the link in the email or use the link below.
Plus you will also have access to all of the other amazing free printables in the library. Yay!
Printables in the freebies library are for personal use but if you wish to use these labels for your class, then you are more than welcome to do so. I do have copyright limitations on what you can use my free printables for, view these in the footer of my website or in my terms and conditions.
Free printable teacher candle gift labels below:
Other Resources You May Like:
FREE PRINTABLE: You Make My Heart Flutter Butterfly Handprint Art
FREE PRINTABLE: Thanks for Making Me a Smartie Pants Label
ARTICLE: 78 Awesome Sayings for Teacher Appreciation Gifts & Crafts
ARTICLE: 28 Cute Apple Crafts for Kids to Make
FROM MY SHOP: Editable Thank You Gift Tags
